Hasta La Ideas

Architects and designers should look to the insect world to find solutions for the survival of our own species, says Japanese graphic designer Taku Satoh.

Satoh co-curated the exhibition Insects: Models for Design with scientist Takeshi Yoro. On show at 21 21 Design Sight in Tokyo, the exhibition explores the role insects have played in the history of design.

According to Satoh, humans can learn more from these tiny creatures than most other species on earth.

“Insects do things that seem unbelievably high tech by human standards,” he told Dezeen. “This is because their world is overwhelmingly large, and vast numbers of species exist, each evolved into great diversities.”

“The kinds of inspirations they offer are, I think, infinite,” he said.

“The insect world is amazing”

While humans have only been on the planet for around 200,000 years, many insects have been here for hundreds of millions of years. For this reason, Satoh believes humans should look to insects for clues about our future survival.

“The insect world is amazing, as I became more and more aware while preparing this exhibition,” he said.

“Their enormously long-term survival, I am sure, offers hints for the future of humankind too.”

The designer also believes insects could be useful in the development of new technologies for robotics, communication and materials.

“For example, the means by which beetles fold and store their wings can be helpful in devising new systems to store satellite aerials, umbrellas or tents,” he told Dezeen.

“The study of insects’ brilliant lustre can lead to new paint technologies,” he continued.

“Another example is how insects escape predators by suddenly curling into spheres and tumbling out of range. This can be used in robotics.”

Influenced by “insect encounters”

Satoh’s own interest in insects began at an early age. As a child, he would spend humid summers collecting insects he found in the trees, forests and rice fields close to his suburban Tokyo home.

Nostalgia for this led him to come up with the idea for the exhibition and to reach out to Takeshi Yoro – an anatomist known for his love of insects – to get involved.

“As a designer, I wondered where my attachment to form came from,” he said. “I’m sure it was influenced by those insect encounters.”

Insects: Models for Design is on show at 21 21 Design Sight until 4 November 2019.

Exhibits include an “audio-visual theatre of insects” by Yosuke Abe and a structural analysis of caddisfly nests by architect Kengo Kuma.

There’s also a project by designer Keita Suzuki called Insect Specimen Case of Tools, including a beetle-like bottle opener and ladybird-inspired sneakers.

“The layout is not rational, nor designed according to logical principles,” said Satoh. “Rather, exhibits are positioned to give the feel of encountering them unexpectedly, as if visitors had entered a forest full of insects.”

Satoh hopes the exhibition will encourage more people to take an interest in insects and potentially learn from them.

“I very much want people to reengage with insects,” he added. “Too often we try to eliminate them, almost by reflex. I want to revive a curiosity that risks being forgotten.”

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We’ve rounded up the 10 best architecture and design exhibitions taking place around the world this autumn. For industry events across October, November and December, refer to our comprehensive month-by-month guide.

The Coming World: Ecology as the New Politics 2030–2100
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, 9-32 Krymsky Val, Moscow
Until 1 December

In the first major Russian exhibition to explore the topic of ecology and climate change, the entire Garage Museum in Moscow has been taken over by works from a slew of artists including Le Corbusier, Huang Yong Ping and Hans Haack.

To reduce the environmental footprint of the show, curators Ekaterina Lazareva and Snejana Krasteva decided to reuse structural materials from previous exhibitions and forwent booklets in favour of a digital catalogue and Soundcloud audio guide.

Herbert Bayer: Bauhaus Master
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, 2 E 91st Street, New York
16. November 2019 – 5. April 2020

In celebration of the Bauhaus centenary, a collection of rare works by one of the school’s biggest proponents will be on display at New York’s Cooper Hewitt museum.

It will chart the enduring influence of Herbert Bayer on the face of modern graphic design, including his creation of Bauhaus’ universal typography.

Charlotte Perriand: Inventing a New World
Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris
2 October 2019 – 24 February 2020

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Charlotte Perriand, Inventing a New World examines how the French architect, designer and artist went beyond the realms of either discipline in her pursuit of a “synthesis of the arts.”

In keeping with this spirit, the exhibit features ceramics, tapestries and other works by a cast of artists from Joan Miró to Pablo Picasso, side-by-side with some of her seminal furniture and building designs.

KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness
NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Until 13 April 2020

Spanning 25 years of his work, this show by contemporary artist-cum-designer KAWS highlights the emotional undertones beneath his ostensibly irreverent, toy-like pieces.

It features a selection of his trademark sculptural figures, alongside a newly commissioned statue – which at seven metres tall is his largest bronze piece to date – and a dedicated pop-up shop full of largely sold out collectibles.

After the Wall: Design since 1989
Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Str. 2, Weil am Rhein
26 October 2019 – 23 February 2020

In November 1989, The Vitra Design Museum opened and the Berlin Wall fell. Now, the museum is showing a retrospective of the past three decades of design and how it has evolved since then.

It will feature work by the likes of Konstantin Grcic and Hella Jongerius, housed within the museum’s permanent collection of more than 7,000 furniture pieces in the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Schaudepot gallery.

Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design
Craft In America Center, 8415 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles
Until 4 January 2020

The design behind LA’s thriving food scene is brought to the fore in this display of tableware and furniture handmade by more than 30 local artisans.

A series of accompanying talks will feature artists and chefs from restaurants such as Michelin-starred n/naka and Somni, as well as Klein Agency-decorated Auburn, discussing how well-designed tools can transform our eating experience.

Moving to Mars
Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, London
18 October 2019 – 23 February 2020

With original objects from NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as well as new commissions from Konstantin Grcic and a roster of other designers, this project gives us a glimpse of what life on another planet might be like – and the role that design has to play within that.

Highlights include a full-scale, 3D printed Mars habitat, hydroponic farming kits and an ExoMars rover prototype by the European Space Agency.

The Architect’s Studio: Tatiana Bilbao
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Gammel Strandvej 13, 3050 Humlebæk
18 October 2019 – 5 April 2020

Visitors of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art can take a behind-the-scenes look at the ideas and processes of Tatiana Bilbao in the latest iteration of Architect’s Studio – a series of exhibitions profiling architects with a social and environmental conscience.

After previous spotlights on Amateur Architecture Studio and Chile-based Elemental, this third instalment deals with Bilbao’s Mexican heritage, her enduring fascination with natural landscapes and geometry and how these influences manifest themselves in her work.

James Turrell: Passages of Light
Museo Jumex, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 303, Colonia Granada 11520, Mexico City
22 November 2019 – 29 March 2020

The American artist is bringing his ethereal, coloured light installations to Jumex in Mexico City, with two pieces – one bright and one dark – created especially for the museum’s terrace and first floor gallery.

They are accompanied by some of his recent dabbles in holography and computer controlled lighting as well as a history of his 45-year-long project to turn an inactive volcano crater in Arizona into an installation.

Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life – How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow
Mori Art Museum, 53F Roppongi Hills, Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Tokyo
19 November 2019 – 29 March 2020

This exhibition in Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum was named by an artificial intelligence, with the final title chosen from the approximately 15,000 options that were generated.

The show explores how our cities and lifestyles might be transformed by the advent of new technologies. More than a hundred projects deal with everything from sustainable building materials and 3D printing in architecture, to biotechnology as illustrated by an exact recreation of Vincent van Gogh’s cut-off ear.

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L’artiste ukrainienne Zhanna Kadyrova a créé la reproduction d’un lieu typique de vente d’aliments. Dans sa série «Market», elle y a présenté tous les éléments que l’on peut trouver dans ce genre d’endroits, tels que: des balances mécaniques, une table, des bacs à légumes, ou encore une chaise en plastique. Mais aussi une lampe à incandescence éclairant de l’intérieur le cadre en métal, recouverte d’une tente bleue. En plus du cadre, l’artiste a ajouté des produits qu y sont habituels tels que des pastèques, courgettes, aubergines, œufs de poule, jambons et saucisses.

Dans cette série, Kadyrova a utilisé différents matériaux de construction comme des carreaux de céramique, du ciment, du béton et de la pierre naturelle. Elle a été présentée pour la première fois au salon ART Monte Carlo, à Monaco. Là-bas, elle a enfreint les règles du marché de l’art en matière de formation des prix des objets d’art, elle y vendait son travail au poids: 1 gramme = 1$.

Fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic will discuss how she started her Roksanda womenswear label at Dezeen Day on 30 October.

The Serbian designer will be part of a panel discussion about entrepreneurialism. The designer, who lives in London, received a masters degree in womenswear from London’s Central Saint Martins.

She launched her fashion label Roksanda in 2005, when she showed her first collection of 11 cocktail dresses with dramatic silhouettes at London Fashion Week.

She has since expanded the luxury brand to include ready-to-wear fashion, swimwear, childrenswear and accessories, with a boutique in London’s Mayfair.

Ilincic gained global recognition through her bold use of colour and geometric patterns in her womenswear designs, which have been worn by celebrities including Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.

She has also applied her signature style to interiors, designing a colourful penthouse apartment in King’s Cross earlier this year.

At Dezeen Day, Ilincic will discuss how she has grown her successful London-based business over the past 14 years in a debate that will explore how architects and designers can profit more from their own creativity.

Ilincic will talk about how to run a successful design business with fellow panelists industrial designer Benjamin Hubert and architect Dara Huang.

Dezeen Day, our first ever architecture, interiors and design conference, will take place at the BFI Southbank in London on 30 October. It will focus on key topics including the circular economy, future cities and transforming design education.

Early-bird tickets can be brought until the end of the week by using the form below or through the Eventbrite page.

See the other speakers announced so far and sign up to the newsletter to receive all Dezeen Day updates. The full schedule for the day can be found here.

The illustration is by Rima Sabina Aouf.

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Dulux chose Tranquil Dawn as its colour of the year for 2020, but something bolder would have better represented the year ahead, says Michelle Ogundehin.

Dulux’s colour of the year for 2020 – a hazy, muted green that recalls a sort of pale Chinese celadon mixed with sage and a smudge of grey – is intended to embody “our desire to treasure our most human qualities and give our homes ‘The Human Touch'”.

However, more than the actual colour it is the why behind the hue that interests me – the rationale of the process before the product, if you will. Quite aside from the complexity of trying to assign a single shade to represent an entire year.

Dulux‘s approach is nothing if not rigorous. Every year its parent company, Akzonobel, gathers an international team of independent architects, creatives and designers at its Global Aesthetics Centre in Amsterdam in order to debate the cultural and lifestyle shifts deemed significant for the year in question.

The brief is to compile as coherent a global picture as possible of the mood ahead. Last year, I was invited to join them. To be clear though, the translation of this three-days of brainstorming into physical colour is the remit of the in-house team alone, we’re just sketching the outline for them to fill in, so to speak.

The brief is to compile as coherent a global picture as possible of the mood ahead

Certainly, there was much to discuss, from the growing phenomenon of bio-hacking and the question of whether we’ve reached peak human, to what one participant dubbed, the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world.

The words of Ginni Rometty, the CEO of IBM were recounted: “you can be the disruptor instead of the disrupted”. Statistics like “47 per cent of today’s jobs will disappear in the next 25 years”, were shared. And we discussed the urban isolation seen in China, a result of the proliferation of virtual reality online services that render real life human interaction redundant.

But it wasn’t all bad. There was also the new wave of gentrification of China’s countryside as old houses in villages deserted by a generation’s exodus to the city are remade as luxurious guest lodges – slow retreats, in an ironic twist, for those now harassed urbanites to escape back to. Plus, the possibility of a shift from a consumer society to a creative one, and the emergence of the Elastic Woman, the now 50-60-year-old baby boomers who refuse to conform to any ageist stereotypes.

The rationale for Tranquil Dawn hinged on rediscovering what makes us human.

In summary, things were messy, but there was a glimmer of hope and optimism visible just over the horizon. After the dark, must come the light, no? But how does this all add up to a laconic misty green?

Certainly, all things “green” are the narrative of the times. Pinterest noted back in 2018 that sage green saves were up 170 per cent, and as issues of sustainability hit the mainstream and campaigning about the environment gets ever more vocal, even business behemoths like Unilever have stated that its entire portfolio of over 400 brands “will need to demonstrate viable corporate social responsibility goals in order to remain part of the group in the long-term”.

Nevertheless, the rationale for Tranquil Dawn hinged on rediscovering what makes us human. And this is a markedly different stance to that of trend forecaster WGSN, which predicted Neo Mint as the colour for 2020 – a shade superficially similar to Tranquil Dawn in its minty-ness but with a far more strident edge, less fresh than fluorescent.

As WGSN put it, “For years we’ve been imagining life in 2020, and now the worlds of technology and science are turning these dreams into reality”. It cited the NASA Mars mission, the building of the world’s tallest building in Saudi Arabia and the introduction of artificial intelligence to assist judges at the Olympic games as evidence of technology’s beneficence.

We are after all in the midst of what has been dubbed the Age of Anxiety

This is a rather idealistic stance, and one that immediately brings to mind American satirist H L Mencken’s scathing put down: “an idealist is someone who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes better soup”.

We are after all in the midst of what has been dubbed the Age of Anxiety. An era in which the superficial seems to reign supreme, infamy is more desirable than respect, consumerism is promoted at every turn and the digital realm appears to have superseded reality.

Have you watched the Netflix documentary The Great Hack? If not, I highly recommend that you do, because, as this film asserts, data is becoming the most valuable asset on earth, and yet it’s the one thing that we as individuals have no power to own yet give away with every single digital interaction.

We need think only of the ease with which highly polarising, filtered “news” was used to target, influence and persuade the unsuspecting to understand why this should be cause for concern. In short, instead of delivering a glorious collaborative utopia, right now, the dream of the connected world, is tearing us apart.

In response, according to Heleen van Gent, head of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Centre: “Against a background of increasing technological power, we want to understand our place in society and how we can make a positive impact on it. We need fresh purpose, to be the architects of our own future, and we are asking searching questions of both ourselves and society.”

Tranquil Dawn is more of a cool neutral, than a statement shade, what I’d refer to as a subconscious colour

So, could all things ‘green’ be the glue that sticks us back together? Certainly, the US-based Behr paints concur with Dulux. In August it announced its 2020 Colour of the Year as Back to Nature S340-4 describing it as a “fresh and slightly yellow-based green [that] serves as an ideal backdrop to satisfy the desire for a soft landing at home… a great option for adding peace and tranquillity to any space”.

Indeed, from a psychological point of view most shades of green do automatically recall lush grass, trees and foliage, thus we intuitively connect it with Spring, new growth, optimism and rebirth. “We are reassured by green on a very primitive level,” says colour psychologist Karen Haller, “Where there is green, we can find food and water – it equals life.”

It sits at the centre of the colour spectrum too making it restful for the eye; in other words, we don’t have to work too hard to see it, so it’s intrinsically calming, which is why you see pale green used a lot to paint the walls of hospital wards.

But lest we forget, green also connotes jealousy, decay and sickness, thus the precise shade of green chosen is paramount. After all, contrast the stealthy allure of British racing green with the zesty reverberation of a vivid lime.

I’d have preferred a slightly punchier, dirtier green

Simplistically put, the former is mixed with black, thus deepened, slowed and given a sophisticated solidity; less the green shoots of spring than the ancient fir forests of Scandinavia. And the latter, energised by a generous dollop of yellow, has a shouty, look-at-me absence of subtlety that calls to mind highlighter pens and sugar-fuelled fizzy drinks. Both greens, but miles apart in their resultant emotive affect.

Thus, Behr’s Back to Nature veers dangerously towards the sickly with its subdued yellow undertones; and Tranquil Dawn, goes to the other end of the scale, being a seriously dialled-down green with base notes of smoky blue. It’s more of a cool neutral, than a statement shade, what I’d refer to as a subconscious colour, in that it’s there, but it’s only whispering for attention, happy to hum along in the background, without overwhelming.

Arguably we could say that it speaks well of collaboration because it works best as part of a palette; it’s a team-player rather than a leader, eminently tasteful, diplomatic and flexible, and no doubt it will have universal commercial appeal. In short, it’s a natural comforter rather than a provocateur, hinting at success rather than overtly promising it.

However, I think Dulux could have been bolder. A year ago perhaps there was more optimism about the future, but right now, as we still lack the strong governmental leadership that we so sorely need, the goal must be self-empowerment, something evidenced already in the escalating number of people’s marches, rebellions and protests seen all over the world.

Thus, I’d have preferred a slightly punchier, dirtier green, as one thing is for sure, it promises to be anything but a tranquil dawn to 2020.

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